Apparatus for making flexible tubing



De@ 22, 1942. D. w. FENTREss 2,306,018

4 APPARATUS FOR MAKING FLEXIBLE TUBING Filed Oct. 23, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 22, 1942-.-

D. `w. FENTREsgs APPARATUS FOR MAKING FLEXIBLE TUBING Filed Oct.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H6 7 .Jg 73%?? MH 'r' 1N VENTOR.

ATTORNEY 'j/f. 60 I ec 22, 1942 D. w. FENTREss 2,306,018

APPARATUS FOR MAKING FLEXlBLE TUBING Filed Obi. `23, 1939' 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 aienied Bec. 22, Z

' FFCE APPARATUS FOR MAKING FLEmlE TUBHNG David Wendell Fentress, Hubbard Woods, Bi., as-

signor to Chicago Metal Hose Corporation, Maywood, lll., a corporation of Hlinois y Applicationctober 23, 1939, Serial No. 300,775

13 claims. (ci. 153-73) |'Ihis invention relates to apparatus for making exible metal tubing, particularly tubing of the seamless, annular, corrugated type.

It is an object of the invention to provide imstm further and more specific objects are to provide tube-making means which are more rapidly operable, which are automatic in operation, and wherein the tube corrugations may be formed at a single operating station by a substantially single operation and without undue stress to the tube wall structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide tube-making means wherein the trough Vportions oi the tubing corrugations which are subjected to the maximum stress in the use oi the tubing are worked or rstressed a minimum amount during the corrugation processing. l

Various other objects, advantages and features of the invention will appear from lthe following specification when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein certain preferred embodiments of the invention are set forth forY purposes of illustration.

In the drawings, wherein like reference numorals. refer to like parts throughout:

Fig. 1 vis a general assembly view, in side elevation, of a tube corrugating apparatus or machine constructed in accordance with the -principles of the invention. Y

Fig. 2 is a partial sectionalview of the apparatus shown in Fig. l, more particularly illustrating the machine head for eecting the corrugating operation.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through .the machine head, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4. is a detailview on an enlargedscale of the corrugating head, at the corrugating station, the view being taken along the line --d of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a; sectional view, of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4, on the line 5-5 thereof.

` is incorporated.

`Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views illustrating tubing pieces as may be made on the machine shown in Fig. 1, in accordance with the principles of the invention. l

Fig. 8 isa detail view, on an exaggerated scale,

illustrating the character .of the corrugated tube y wall. l Figs. 9 to 15 inclusive are detail vviews generally similar to Fig. 4, but illustrating thesuccessive steps in the formation of the tube corrugation.

Fig. 16 illustrates an additional corrugationshaping mechanism which may be used with the machine shown in Fig. 1, if desired.

Fig. 17 is a sectional view of the mechanism shown in Fig.` 16, on an enlarged scale and on the line I 'I-I'I of Fig. 16, and

Fig. 18 is a -detail view on a further enlarged scale of one of the corrugating rollers, and taken onthe line I8-.I8 of Fig. 17.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

and rst to Figs. 1 to 5 thereof, the machine illustrated comprisesV a main head frame4 I0 in which the mechanism for corrugating the tubing corrugating mechanism, best shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, comprisesin general a pair o1' separable gripping or holdingjaws ll and I2, an outer reciprocable corrugationforming Vmember vor sleeve I3, an inner reciprocable-corrugating member generally indicated by the reference numeral i4, and a control shaft I5 reciprocably mounted within the corrugating member ld. y

The several parts of the corrugating mechanism are all driven from a common power source,

and in relative timed relation. More specifically, the head frame I is provided with a main prime shaft I'I toward the end of which is secured a beveled gear I8, and to the-intermediate portion of which is secured a spur gear I9. The gear i9 meshes with and drives a larger gear 20, Fig. 2, fixed to a shaft 2I. Each end of shaft 2i has xed to it a cam member 22 adapted to operate a roller 23 secured to the end of an arm 24 pivoted to a pivot shaft as indicated at 25 in Fig. 1. V 'I'he arm 26 actuates a llnk'28, the'upper end of which is pivotally connected to a `pair of toggle links 2l and 28, the outer end, of the link4 28 being pivotally connected to the head frame Il) as indicated at 29, and the outer end of the link 2l being pivotallyconnected to the corrugation-forming member I3 by a suitable pivotal connection as indicated at ll.A The. arm 24 is slotted longitudinally as indicated at 24, Fig. r 1,

indlcated at and bell crank levers are pivotally connectedoto the to provide an adjustable connection between the arm and link 2S.. By this means the degree of movement imparted to the link as the arm isv moved may be varied. The pivotal connection between the arm and link may be held in adjusted position by any suitable clamping nut. A tension spring 3l normally urges the linkl 2i upwardly and the arm `24 clockwise to maintain the roller 23 in engagement with its actuating cam 22. As will be understood by reference to Figs. 1

and 2', duplicate cam and link operating mechanisms are provided on each side of the head frame, whereby to impart a balanced thrust to the corrugating member assembly. By means of the mechanism described, as the shaft 2I is rotated reclproeatory motion is imparted to the corrugating member Il, the corrugating member and its associated assembly parts being slidably reciprocable along the ways 32. The contour of the cams 22 may be suitably shaped to impart the desired characteristic of motion to the corrugating member. 'l

The bevel gear I3 drives. a bevel gear 35 se-` cured to a shaft 36, Fig. 2. the outer end of which carries a gear 31 meshingrwith a gear 33 secured to a shaft 33. 'I'he inner .end ofthe shaft 39.

carries a pair of cams 40 and 4I, Fig. 3, adapted to actuate a pair of bell crank levers 42 and 43 pivotally mounted upon the head frame Illas 4l. -'I'hez upper ends ofthe ers 63 at the upper ends thereof to facilitate the ready longitudinal motion of the tubing and sleeve.

The construction of the holding jaws II and I2`and of the outer and inner corrugating members I3 and Il is best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. As will be seen, the separable holding jaws Ill and I2 are provided at their point of juncture with a series of annularly formed ribs or flanges 65, 68 and 81 shaped to conform to the contour of the completed tubing convolutions. The contour ofthe rib 81 adjacent to the outer corrugating member I3 forms one side of the tube corrugating station at which the corrugation is actually shaped or formed. as will be later described.

Th'e outer reciprocable corrugating member I3 is provided with.anannularlsurface 63 on the end face thereof shaped to' conform to the tubing convolution, and forming the other side of the tube corrugating station. The corrugatin'g member I3 also carries a concentrically disposed rubber sleeve il, the rubber sleeve being held in place by means of an annular threaded locking memberl. The member I3 and the sleeveV 69 arev just enough larger than thev tube SII so as to permitthe free sliding movement of these parts relative to the-tube.

.The inner corrugating member Il comprises I' the metal sleeve 51, a rubber sleeve 1I, a metal gripping jaws II and I'2,respectively.' -Tension y springs 43 and 41 tendito move the Jawsinto'i;: v

separated position, thereby maintaining thelow.-

er ends of the bell ver''s;n'k. l'evers in engagement with the actuating cams By vmeans :otthez mechanism described, as the actuating` `cams are rotated the bell cranks are'operated to open and close the holding jaws II and I2 in timedvrelation to the movements of the other parts of the corrugating mechanism. The contour of the cams lll and II'is suitably shapedto impart the proper characteristic andtimingofmovement.

Gear 31 also meshes with al-gear BII secured tothe end of a long shaft il on .the outer end of which two cam track wheels 52 and 53 are mounted. The cam I2 operates a lever 54 pivoted as indicated at 5I upon a laterally project-l ing portion of a foot frame 5i. The upper end of the lever 54 is pivotally connected to an elongated sleeve member il forming a part or extension of the inner corrugating assembly Il, as may be best understood by reference to Fig. 4. As the cam 52 is rotated, thecam track therein l causes -the pivotal operation of lever M, thereby imparting reciprocatory motion to the sleeve 57.V The cam track will be suitably formed'to impart washeror sleeve 12, a rubber washer or sleeve 'I3 and a second metal washer '1I all mounted and heldin place upon-the control shaft I5 by means a washer .1l anda nut 1! threaded to the end of thefacontrol shaft. The several parts of the 'innercrrugating assembly are likewise just sumcientlysmaller than the tube il so as to normally allow free reciprocation of the .parts within the 'tube. The parts forming the inner corrugating 'assembly I4 are also loosely mounted upon the control shaft so as to permit relative longitudinal movement between the control shaft and the parts mountedfthereon. .Therubber sleeves I3 the proper timing 'and movement to the sleeve. Similarlythe cam'53 is adapted to operate a klever 5l pivoted as indicated at 59 to the foot frame, andpivotally connected at its upper end to thecontrol shaft I5. By means of the cam i3 the control shaft is reciprocated in the proper timed movements, the contour of the cam track being suitably formed to impart the desired characteristic of motion.

.tube m be corrugated. indicated by the4 reference numeral 60, loosely 'embraces the sleeve 51, the sleeve to this end being of `considerable length, for example forty'feet ormore, to enable the corrugation of long lengths of tubing. Suitable supports such as indicated at II and' l2, Fig. l, may be provided .for supporting the sleeve and the tubing, these supports vbeing provided with anti-friction devices such as rolland 1i constitute gripping evices for the tubing during theoperation of the apparatus, as will now be described, and the rubber washer or sleeve "I3 constitutes a forming member for effecting the partial formation of the tube corrugation. Preferably the rubber of 'member-'13 is harder than that of members I3 and 1I. I f

In operation, and referring particularly to the successive step' illustrative views, Iiigs.v 9 to 15 inclusive, the holding jaws Il and I2, the outer and inner corrugating members I3 and Il, and the'controlfshitftA Il are all operated in predetermined timed relation to effect the corrugation of the tubing at Qthej corrugating station. The tube to be corrugated is first slipped onto the inner corrugating member I4, the size of the members I3 and Il 4being normally such as to permit the ready placement or the vtube in positionas previously described. The prime mover Il is then started toeect the corrugating opl eration. -In Fig. 9 the gripping jaws, only jaw II being illustrated, are open and the corrugating members I3 and I4 are in retracted position. The tubing is in position to have a new corrugation formed therein, the previously formed corrugation 8l havingbeen moved away from the corrugating station. The holding jaws are first moved to closed position as illustrated in Fig. 1I).A

whereby to grip the tubing and hold it from longitudinai movement.. 4The corrugating members' I3 and Il are 'then moved forwardly together from the position shown in Figs. 9 and l0 to the 'v .7 5 position ini-Fig. 1l. During this movement the control lshaft it held substantially stationary so that as corrugat-ing member Il is be positively moved therewith. Simultaneously,

the tube-forming rubber sleeve' or washer "i3 is axially compressed and radially expanded as indicated in Fig. 11, causing the initial or half formation of the new tubing convolution BI., Whereas the feeding sleeve-li 'is chnilned radial- 'ly and hence limited initsdegre'e of expansion, the forming sleeve 73 is free to expand into the .15

space between the holding jaws and thel corragating member I3. The expansionof thelforming sleeve insures the proper initial` or partialformationl of the tubing convolution.- Y

'I'he control shaft I5 is th'en movedto the left,

' as indicated in Fig. 12, releasing the compression upon the rubber Vmembers 'I8 and TI. These Aparts thereupon become relaxed or restored to normal position. The formingjmember 'I3 is withdrawn from the tubing convolution, and the feeding operation. The parts are now restored to their Fig. 9 position and the cycle of operation is complete.

'I'he described corrugating method and apparatus is particularly adapted for use in the corrugating of very thin-walled tubing, such for example as tubing of thin-walled stainless steel or the like, dueto the fact that the tubing is worked both internally and externally during the corrugating operation., There isno tendency to collapse .orV crush the tubing wall vsuch as results -if'the .tubingwall is worked fromone side only. -for example externally. Also, due to the fact that the corrugating operation is effected ata a s'ingle'operating station `corrugated tubing of any desired length, including vvery long lengths, may be. made. In accordance with'the structure of the invention the length of the tubing isllmitedonly by the length of the sleeve 51, which may be madesubstantially as long as desired. It is i lto be noted, particularly with reference to Figs.

l1, 12 and 13 that the tubing is positively gripped gripping member 1I releases its hold upon the tubing. The outer corrugating member I3 then completes its movement to the left, as shown in Fig. 13, closing the space-between it and th'e holding jaws II i and I2,v and completing the lformation of the tbing convolution. Due to the l f fact that the convolution has been partially formed it 1s gripped as the member I3 is moved to the left, causing the convolution to be thrust radially outwardly as it-is axially compressed,. into iirxn engagement with` the annular shaping surfaces on the holding laws II and I2 and on th'e forward end 68 of the" corrugating member i3. During the forward-movement of the outer corrugating member I3, the inner corrugating bly IB and the control-shaft I5 are preferably also further moved forward. as illustrated in Fig. 13, so as to prevent any frictional drag between the tube. land thesleeve 5l as the tube is fed forwardly or to theleft. [During-this movementthe rubber sleevesflt` and 1I remain relaxed or uncompressed'f 'i Whilethe member i3 'remains in position to rmly grip and hold the newlyfformed convotional drag .between the sleeve 5l and the .tube

t@ cannot injure the newly formed tube convolution, due to the fact that the member I3 remains in convolution-holding position. The cor:`

rugating member i3 is then retracted as shown in Fig. 15,'and thereafter the holding Jaws II and I2 are separated. The control shaft l5 is then urged lightly against the forming assembly it causing the compression of the rubber sleeve li and the gripping of the tubing between the 'sleeves 'il vand tt. Due to the fact that the rubber of sleeve l is harder than that of sleeve 89, the sleeve l is not materially expanded during this operation. The members I3 and I4 are then simultaneously moved forward or to the left, returning totheir Fig. 9 position, and dur ing this movement the tubing is fed forwardly removing the convolution tl from the corrugatand Ai'ed forwardly both during tlilfinitial formation of the convolution, as shovvnffin Fig.l1l. and in the final formation of thef'convolutiomias shown in Fig. 13. This insures that themetal or the tubing wall* at the formed" convolution ,ig stressed onlya minimum amount, thereby minimizing the working of the metal'ilbers, increas ing the strengthand life of thejgtubing.. lIhev` operation is rapid and automat'id It` isftobe .understood thatV if desired the control shaft Il may be held' stationary as the corrugating members move. to their Fig. 13 position, thereby thrusting the rubber-forming member 'I3 completely into the nished tubing convolution, if. Y

desired. However it is preferred to only partiallyform the convolution by means ofthe .vub-v -i ber-forming member, as previously described'to minimize the working of the rubber.A 1

In Fig. 6 a tubing piece such as may: bemalle, in accordance .with the invention is illustrated.: It ist@ be noted that the tubing may begbrf vided with a non-corrugated cylindricalendyse'ci f tion' 84 by beginning the corrugatingfoperation, l at a point spaced from the extreme tubingl end: i.. v A cylindrical end section. suchf'as the section' l 84, materially facilitates the 4attachment of the'y tubing to'various types of coupling-means, and

is to be preferred tothe irregular end section invariably resulting from tubing made ..byhel ically or spirally winding the'tubmfm'b. Ac

cordingly the invention provides' for rthmaking of corrugated tubing, which maybethin-walled.-

with a cylindrical end section( attachment of coupling means.; j

Also by periodically inter-ruiningv thecorrugating operation, and manually, partially withdraw'- ing the tube from the machine, a vtubing such as illustrated in Fig. y'l having spaced corrugated sections 85,85 and 81 separated by non-corrugated sections V88 and 89 may be produced. Such tubing, having definite utility for certaintypes of installations is well adapted for production in accordance with thepresent inventlon'due to the fact that the corrugating process takesplace at a single operating station.

In Fig. 8, the manner in which the tubinlgwall is worked is illustrated. Due to the -fact that the tubing corrugations are formed or `thrust radially outwardly from the original tube di ameter, the crest portions of the convolutions as i station. The control-shaft moves forwardly with the member it, but maintains the compression upon the rubber sleeve li to euect the tubeindicated at 90 will be worked the greatest amount and will be thinner than the convolution' to Hfacilitatel the` vwith the invention the trough portions of the tudinally reciprocable within a bearing convolutions which are subjected to the major stress in the operation or use of the tubing are worked a-minimum amount during the corru gating process. Itis to be understood that Fig. 8 is merely illustrative and is drawn to. an exaggerated scale.

VWhile the methods and apparatus heretofore described may be used to produce satisfactory ilexible bellows type tubing, in some instances. vwhere extremely deep corrugations rto provide maximum bellows action are desired, it may be desirable to useadditional corrugation working means as illustrated'in Figs. 16,17 and 18. In this instance the main machine head vframe is provided with an auxiliary frame 95, and a sleeve extension 96at the upper end thereof. The sleeve'96 carries a rotatable working head generally indicated by the. reference numeral.

91. This working head is rotatablyrmounted upon the sleeve 96 and` is adapted to be driven by means of a belt 90 and a pulley'99 secured to and rotatable with the gear 38. As best seen in Fig/17, the rotary working head carries a series of Vrotatable corrugation working or forming rollers |00, each rollerbeing mounted for reciprocation in a radial direction upon a ref cipr'ocable sub-frame |0|. Springs |02 normally urge the working rollers radially outwardly out of contact with the tubing, andr each sub-frame The rollers |03vare adapted to beengaged by a coneoperating member |04, Fig. 16, longiformed at the upper end of the auxiliary frame,

The det-ail of one suitable form of working roller is shownwin Fig. 18. In this particular instance the tubing, as it emerges from the primary corrugating station, isl provided with convolution vcrest portions ||5 which are wider than the trough portions |I6. The working roller is adapted to increase the depth of the corrugations as welll as to narrow the crest portions thereof. To this end the working roller is provided with a series of flange portions ||1,-the pitch of which progressively decreases and the height of which progressively increases from one end of the roller to the other. Also the barrel diameter of the roller between the flanges constantly decreases as indicated at ||8. Accord- VinglyV as the roller reciprocates and successively engages and works the tubing convolutions the crest portions will bereduced .in width as indicated at ||5a to av width equal to the troughs,

the crests ||5a will be moved radially outwardly andthe troughs ||0a will be moved radially inwardly from' the 1 original tube diameter indicated by the line A-B. VThe depth of the tubing convolution may be substantially doubled from its original depth, approximately seventy-five per cent of the finished tubing convolution being ly formed covolutions were entirely outwardly under the Vcontrol of a yoke lever |06 pivotally mounted as indicatedat |01, and adapted to be operated by a cam |00 whichengages a roller |09 carried on the lever. The cam |00 may be operated by means ofV suitable bevel gearing and a shaftl ||0 secured to and rotatable Withithe gear 31. The cone-operating member |04 'is provided with a conical surface shaped toconform to the conical tapering of the rollers |03 so that as the operating member 'is moved toY oiated frames to be rotated bodily around the axis of the tubing v60. As `the cone-operating member |04 is moved to the right, as seen V:in

Fig. 16, by the cam |08, the rollers |03 are engaged and thrust inwardly, moving thegrollers from thegriginal tube diameter. Av iiexible tub-v ing of increased flexibility and suitable-for the most exacting bellows requirements is thereby produced.. It is to be understood that the rollers |00 may beof various desired shapes whereby to impart the desired reshaping to the tubing convolutions.

It Ais obvious that various changes may be made in the speciiic apparatus embodiments and method steps heretofore shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly the invention is not to be limited to the precise. embodiments and methods described, but-only as indicated in the following claims. Y Y

The inventionis hereby claimed as follows:

1. An apparatus for making fiexible corrugated metal tubing comprising means for supporting a piece of tubing to be corrugated, a member of flexible plastic materialengageable against a subsaid member for positively feeding tubing wall sections on either side of the radially displaced |00 into working engagement with the tubing' `convolutions against the actionof springsi02. A spring holds the roller |09 in engagement y with the cam |08, and restores' the .cone-operating member to normal inoperative position. The contour and timing of the cam |08 is such that'the working rollers |00 will be thrust insection axially toward each other, and means for simultaneously operating saidaxial compressing meansf and said positive feeding means.

2. An'apparatus for making ilexible corrugated metal tubing comprising means for supporting a piece of tubing to be corrugated, a member o! flexible plastic material engageable against a substantially annular wall section of the tubing at a corrugating` station, means for axially compressing said member to radially project said member against the tubing Wall wherebyto produce an annular corrugation therein, means en-l gageable with the tubing on opposite sides of said' member for positively feeding tubing wall sections on either side ofthe radially displaced section axially toward each other, and means for simultaneously operating said axial compressing means and said positive feeding means, means for shifting the tubing axially a predetermined distance to bring a new tubing wall portion to the corrugating station, and means for successively operating said axial compressing and positive feeding means and said shifting means whereby to progressively produce a series .of corrugations along the length of the tubing.

3. An apparatus for making flexible corrugated metal tubing comprising means for supporting a piece of tubing to be corrugated, means operable at a corrugating station for' simultaneously radially projecting all parts of a substantially annular tubingv wall section to partially form a corruga- I tion therein, means engageable with the tubing on opposite sides of the projected section for feeding the engaged tubing portions relatively toward eachsotherto complete the formation of the tubing corrugation, and control means for operating said projecting means/and said feeding means so that the effectivey operation of the feeding means follows the effective operation of the projecting means.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said projecting means comprises a member oi exible plastic material engageable with and opposite sides of the partially formed tubing corl rugatlon and movable relatively toward each other to complete the formation of the corrugation.

'7. An apparatus as deflnedinclaim 3, wherein said projecting means comprises a member of flexible plastic material engageable with and radially projectable against an annular tubing wall portion, and wherein said feeding means comprises a pair of die members engageable with opposite sides of the partially formed tubing corrugation and movable relatively toward each other to complete the formation of the corrugation, one of said diemembers being a split die shaped to conform to the contour` of the corrugated tubing.

8. An apparatus for making flexible corrugated' metal tubing comprising means for supporting a piece of tubing to be corrugated. means operable at a corrugating station for simultaneously radially projecting all parts of a substantially annular tubing wall section to partially form a corrugation therein, means engageable with the tubing on opposite sides of the projected section for feeding the engaged tubing portions relatively toward each other to complete the formation of the tubing corrugation, means for shifting the tubing axially a predetermined distance to bring new tubing wall portions to the corrugating station, and means for operating said projecting means, said feeding means, and said shifting means so that the effective operation of the feeding means follows the effective operation of the projecting means and the corrugations are progressively formed along the length of the tubing.

9. An apparatus for making flexible corrugated metal tubing comprising means for supporting a piece of tubing to be corrugated, means operable at a corrugating station for simultaneously radially projecting all parts of a substantially annular tubing wall section to partially form a .corrugation therein, means engageable with the tubing for completing the formation of the partially formed corrugation, means for shifting the tubing axially af predetermined distance to bring new tubing wall portions to the corrugating station, and means for operating said projecting means, said completing means, and said shifting means so that the effective operation of the completing means follows the effectlve operation of the projecting means and the corrugations are progressively formed along the length of the tubing.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, wher in said projecting means comprises a member of flexible plastic material engageable with and projectable against an annular tubing walllportion.

11. An apparatus for making corrugated metal tubing comprising means for supporting a piece of tubing to be corrugated, means comprising a member of flexible plastic materialradially projectable at a corrugating station against a substantially annular tubing wall section to partially form a corrugation therein, means for pro-y jecting said member, means comprising a pair of dies engageable against the sides of the partially formed corrugation and movable relatively toward each other to complete the formation of the corrugation, means for moving said dies, and meansfor controlling the operation of said member projecting means and said die moving means so that the `effective operation of the dies follows the effective operation of said projectable member.

12. An apparatus for making corrugated metal y tubing comprising means for supporting a piece of tubing to be corrugated, means comprising a member of flexible plastic material radially projectable at a corrugating station against a Vsubjecting means, said die moving means and said shifting means so that the corrugations are progressively formed along the length of the tubing.

13. An apparatus las defined in claim 11,

wherein one of said dies is a split die-shaped to conform to the contour of the corrugated tubing.

DAVID WENDELL FENTRESS. 

